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"Live at The Ranch" Bringing Texicana Music to the
World
A Commentary on the Second Shoot
August 3, 2001
by The
Recordman
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Eddie Deen's Ranch may be on the edge of
modern downtown Dallas, but stepping inside is like going back into the
Old West. Gunslinging cowboys and lovely dancehall girls roam the
"streets" of the mini-western village inside, while a longhorn steer
grazes in the corral. The huge computer enhanced screen behind the
stage transforms downtown into a west Texas desert where only a few
vehicles venture and where the big Texas sun is forever setting behind
rolling color streaked clouds. The smell of roasting beef permeates
the air whetting the appetite for Eddie's famous BBQ and a cold beer.
I could stop here and this would be a fun place to
visit.
Now add great Texas music performed live by
some of our most talented artists and fill the place with those great
Texas music fans, and it becomes one helluva fun place. Then throw
in seven or eight state of the art television cameras and a large
production crew and you have fun and excitement. The Ranch is the
location for the shooting of a possible new music series similar to the
long running Austin City Limits. It was a great choice. The
music has sounded great throughout the shoots even though we were told
that the vocals may sound a little fuzzy live in order to make it sound
perfect on the soundtrack. I barely noticed any fuzziness live and
the few folks that I know involved in the production that has heard the
recorded sound claims it is great. I can hardly wait to hear for
myself.
The excitement factor must have spilled over to the artists, because every one of them I have seen turned in great, very professional performances worthy of worldwide broadcast. The artists chosen for the pilot shows cover a wide variety of Texas music styles and are estimable ambassadors for revealing the sweep and diversity of our music to network executives and then, hopefully, to the rest of the world. The first showcase featured troubadours Max
Stalling and Houston Marchman and one of my webmate's, David Miller,
reviewed that great concert previously. The second show began with
James Hand. Mr. Hand has been around awhile and I enjoy his CD
"Shadow Where The Magic Was", but I had never seen him perform. I
was very impressed with his songwriting and singing. The first part
of his set was solo, and he belted out several great tunes in a voice and
style that reminded of some of our legendary honky tonk innovators like
Lefty Frizzell and Johnny Horton...very good stuff that goes back to the
roots of country and western music. He was later joined on stage by
Ed Burleson's band and turned that big building into a full-fledged honky
tonk. They ended with a killer version of "Baby, Baby Don't Tell Me
That" and got a well deserved standing O from the crowd. I will go see
James again, and I recommend him to all that enjoy the classic sound of
the fifties and sixties. I don't mean that his music is retro- it's as
current as any of the other artists that played, but it reminds me of the
classics.
Next was Eleven Hundred Springs. This band has only been around since 1998, and that was about when I first heard them play. I enjoyed them then and have seen them perform numerous times over these last several years. During those years I have watched them mature into a great band and I think their future is very promising. They play honky tonk music but with a distinctive rocking style that gives them an original sound. They write excellent songs that are often sprinkled with humor. They appeal to the young college crowd (always good for business) and also to us old timers and all ages in between. Matt Hillyer has a very good voice, plays nice guitar and has a tremendous stage presence. Chris Claridy is another one of those excellent guitarist that Texas is so proud of. Chris isn't flashy because he doesn't need to be. He can blow you away playing honky tonk, blues, boogie and rock while never moving an inch. Oh, he does move but he doesn't HAVE to in order to be noticed. Aaron Wynne plays some sweet steel that always adds a special touch to the song being played. Bruce Alford on drums keeps a rock steady beat. I've seen Bruce sit in with several bands over the years and he never falters, even if he barely knows the song being played. That's percussion talent and it separates great drummers from guys with two sticks and a drum kit. Steve Berg on bass rounds out the group and proves he belongs with the big guns and throws in a few surprise riffs along the way for good measure. The group went through their growing list of hits including my favorites "Seven Days" and "The Only Thing She Left Me Was The Blues". It was one of the best shows I've seen them do, and it should definitely help sell this series. The songs performed from their just released, new acoustic CD, "A Straighter Line", were excellent and the CD should add to their fast growing popularity. Ed Burleson and his band followed to close
out the evening. I think Ed is one of our best honky tonk artists
and a great purveyor of Texas Music. He started his set with the
song "A 11" and then went through all his great songs that we love
and love to sing along with including "Wide Open Spaces", "Bitch and
Moan", "No Tears", "Sorry for Nothin' but You", "No Closing Time", "My
Perfect World" and of course "Goin' Home To Texas". All of these are
great songs (among others) and someday will be recognized as the true
honky tonk classics they are. That will be when country radio
finally realizes that most of what they play is drivel and crap. Ed,
to his credit, wrote or co- wrote most of these songs and has become a
songwriter of considerable merit. He also has the good sense to
carry on an old Texas country tradition of having twin fiddles in his
band. And when the fiddlers are as talented as Thurston Selby and
the lovely Heather Woodriff, the tradition is in very good hands.
These two have different styles and use them while alternating on solos,
but when twin fiddles are called for they play in perfect unison and often
bring to mind the music of the great Bob Wills. That's high praise
in my book. Ray Austin, on steel guitar, frequently interjects well
placed moaning riffs and ace solos that add to the honky tonk sound.
Ed's tunes are arranged so that most solos are short and lean heavily on
the fiddles and steel. But when it calls for lead guitar, Joe
Degelia can be counted on to come through with a nice one and let everyone
know that he is not a backup player-he is definitely front line.
Richard Burleson (Ed' s Dad) played drums before Ed was born and his
experience is evident. He is always there with the right beat, back
beat, tempo and rhythm to make you wanna dance. The bass player ,
Gary Miles was new to me but he is excellent and I expect to hear more
from him. In fact I did just a few nights later when he played with
Davin James and was admirable that night too. Ed has recently added
a back up singer also, Andie Kay Joiner. This enchanting young lady has a
great voice that compliments Ed's voice perfectly. I think Ed has
one of the best honky tonk voices around and when his slightly high
pitched voice harmonizes with Andie's throaty "Patsy Clineish" voice the
results are remarkable. She also did a solo number and the lady can
sing. I'm sure she has a long career in her
future.
While it's true when Ed says he is "all
honky tonk all the time", most assuredly this band can also play the
blues, like on crowd favorite "Eleven Months and Twenty Nine Days"
or hoe-down like on "Big Mamou". They are
a very hot band with a full, rich sound and I commend them for a great
performance under the circumstances. Ed nor the other bands are
used to the lights, cameras, makeup, cameramen all around them, cameras on
cranes, etc., but they all gave it their all and, dammit, that should be
enough to impress any TV executives. If not, the problem is with
them not with these performers, not this night. The crowd was
encouraged to really "whoop it up loud", but we didn't need the
prompting. We "whooped up loud" because the bands deserved it, and
we appreciate them and all the other great Texas bands out there that help
make Texas so damn special.
Written by Jim Hughes, August 27, 2001 Visit Eddie Deen's
Ranch
website
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